The story behind launching 14 remote laundry services
By Judith Meiklejohn
Six years ago I left a role in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research to work with Orange Sky Australia. The allure of travel was enticing, but more importantly, I sought a role where I could address inequity more tangible and timely change. Across these six years, with the support of Traditional Custodians, partners and the community; we have launched 14 remote laundry services.
Here’s the story behind it.
Orange Sky’s first remote service began in Lockhart River in 2017 and in the year following, when I started, funding was received to establish a service on Palm Island. I was initially tasked with establishing a model similar to our metropolitan services. However, it was evident very quickly that changes were needed to suit the remote landscape.
With a public health background, I knew we must consider the social determinants of health, equity, human rights and improved access to deliver an effective and sustainable remote service.
Leveraging this knowledge, we got to work establishing a new remote model that was grounded in strong relationships across the community and centred on:
- Community identified need and common purpose;
- Partnerships with local, trusted, Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations;
- Creation of meaningful employment opportunities and development for local Aboriginal people.
The first community where we established the new model was Maningrida, to support efforts to reduce rheumatic heart disease. Little did we know at the time about the looming global pandemic.
Despite spending two years navigating the pandemic, we have since applied this model to over a dozen remote services across WA, NT and QLD.
In 2021, I was joined by a small team from Orange Sky to visit nearly 30 remote communities that had previously enquired about using our services with the aim of listening to and learning from the communities to grow our impact.
This became an essential springboard to launching many of the services we have today.
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The Remote Venture opened our eyes to the reality of laundry facility access for people in these communities. For many Australians living remotely, it’s extremely challenging to access laundry facilities or own a washing machine. Machines are often cost prohibitive to buy, too small to fit blankets, or are lower-quality machines with a limited lifespan. Warranty claims are often not fulfilled and repairs are difficult to obtain due to being a long way from a major centre.
Research shows these challenges can ripple into other aspects of life, affecting school attendance, employment, skin health and overall quality of life. This is further evidence to indicate why each query we receive from remote communities relates to improving residents’ health outcomes.
By the end of 2021, we had launched three new services – Wadeye, NT as well as, Bidyadanga and Fitzroy Crossing WA. We also participated in a community public health response in Aurukun alongside government and community-controlled health and environmental health teams.
In 2022, we launched four services across Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia. This included a permanent placement in Aurukun, as well as temporary shifts in Galiwin’ku, Yakanarra and Yungngora.
Our growth in new remote services saw a huge leap in service innovation – a core aspect of what we do at Orange Sky. We built more robust facilities to withstand harsh weather and water, lower access to technicians, and run off less power. Our Innovation team built the Waru dryer, requiring 80% less electrical energy.
This allowed our team to develop a solar energy system which we now use to build new laundry assets including our RV3.0, Remote Trailer, Laundry Pods, and Indoor Laundry services. These changes contribute to reducing our environmental impact while running more reliable services for the community.
2023 brought the launch of a further five new services including Kalgoorlie, Doomadgee, Gapuwiyak, Nganmarriyanga, and Yuendumu. Due to high demand from the community we were also able to support Wadeye with a second van.
2024 saw us land in Mt Isa, Queensland for a two-week public health response that became a permanent placement to support skin health, alongside several community and health agencies to reach as many people as possible within this period. We have also launched in Mornington Island in 2024, and have plenty of plans on the horizon.
14 service launches later, we continue to unfold the essential nature of trust and relationships in everything we do.
Each wash and yarn can’t exist without the relationships we’ve built and the trust of our community partners, Traditional Custodians and residents. This is alongside the hard work of our cultural navigators, team members, and supporters.
For 2024 and into the future, Orange Sky Remote will continue to work alongside First Peoples to reduce inequities, drive meaningful change and impact in remote communities where we are needed, by building collaborative relationships and fostering trust.
Access to laundry facilities and a safe connection space is essential for addressing our human needs and partnering with communities is a valuable way to do this. Six years on, I remain passionate and committed to continue providing simple and practical solutions to support important Australian communities and peoples.
Our work in remote communities would not be possible without our incredible local partners. We extend our deepest gratitude to:
Aurukun: RESET
Bidyadanga: Bidyadanga Aboriginal Council
Doomadgee: Doomadgee Aboriginal Shire Council, North West Hospital and Health Service
Gapuwiyak: Arnhem Land Progress Aboriginal Corporation
Kalgoorlie: Bega Garnbirringu Health Service
Lockhart River: Run by Orange Sky and supported by community
Maningrida: Mala’la Aboriginal Health Service
Nganmarriyanga: Thamarrurr Development Corporation
Palm Island: Run by Orange Sky and supported by community
Wadeye: Thamarrurr Development Corporation
Yuendumu: Central Desert Regional Council
Mt Isa: North-West Hospital and Health Service. We worked alongside other stakeholders such as North West Queensland Indigenous Catholic Care Services, Salvation Army Serenity House, Mount Isa Flexible Learning Centre and Centacare.
